On July 1, 2011, due to the flood conditions in the Souris River Basin, the Honorable William W. McLees, Presiding Judge of the Northwest Judicial District, after consultation with the District Judges and Judicial Referee chambered in Minot, North Dakota, petitioned this Court for emergency extension of deadlines, statutes of limitation, and suspension of compliance with North Dakota Supreme Court Administrative Order 16.

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, that North Dakota Supreme Court Administrative Order 20 is entered as follows:

A. Statement of Purpose

Due to flood conditions in the Souris River Basin affecting numerous communities in Ward County, North Dakota, an emergency exists requiring immediate adoption of this administrative order, which is intended to alleviate uncertainty and hardship by granting an emergency stay of deadlines.

B. Statement of Authority

Article VI, Section 3, of the North Dakota Constitution gives the Supreme Court authority to promulgate rules and issue orders of practice and procedure for the administration of justice in all civil and criminal actions, and for all proceedings in the courts of this state. Except as may be provided in section D, this emergency order does not abridge, enlarge, or modify the substantive rights of any party.

C. Stay of Time

When by procedural statute or rule, or by notice given under a procedural statute or rule, or by order of a District Court, an act is required or allowed to be done at or within a specified time, the Supreme Court orders a stay, extending by 60 days deadlines occurring between July 1 and August 31, 2011, unless the deadline is imposed by substantive law or required by the Constitution of the United States or North Dakota. This stay applies 1) to cases venued in Ward County, 2) to cases wherever venued in which one or more of the parties resides in Ward County, and 3) to cases wherever venued in which one or more of the parties is represented by an attorney residing in Ward County.

D. Statute of Limitation

Any deadline for commencing an action in a civil case between July 1 and August 31, 2011, is stayed for 60 days from the date a statute of limitation or repose would otherwise bar the claim. This stay applies: 1) to cases which will be venued in Ward County, 2) to cases wherever they will be venued in which one or more of the parties resides in Ward County, and 3) to cases wherever they will be venued in which one or more of the parties is represented by an attorney residing in Ward County.

E. Electronic Filing

The requirement under North Dakota Supreme Court Administrative Order 16 to use only the Odyssey® electronic filing system for electronic filing of documents in the Ward County District Court is suspended from July 1 to August 31, 2011. In addition to the Odyssey® electronic filing system, attorneys and self-represented litigants may also use facsimile transmission or e-mail to electronically file documents with the Ward County District Court until August 31, 2011.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, that any party adversely affected by this Order may request reconsideration, vacation or modification.

The Supreme Court of the State of North Dakota convened this 5th day of July, 2011, with the Honorable Gerald W. VandeWalle, Chief Justice, and the Honorable Dale V. Sandstrom, the Honorable Mary Muehlen Maring, the Honorable Carol Ronning Kapsner and the Honorable Daniel J. Crothers, Justices, directing the Clerk of the Supreme Court to enter the above order.

Penny MillerClerkNorth Dakota Supreme Court

COMMENT

Sections 27-02-08 through 27-02-10, N.D.C.C., concern the relationship and interaction between procedural rules and statutes. Specifically, Section 27-02-09, N.D.C.C., provides: "All statutes relating to pleadings, practice, and procedure in civil or criminal actions, remedies, or proceedings, enacted by the legislative assembly, have force and effect only as rules of court and remain in effect unless and until amended or otherwise altered by rules promulgated by the supreme court."

Section 28-01-29, N.D.C.C., provides the time of a stay is not part of the time limited for commencement of an action by a statute of limitation. Section 28-04-07, N.D.C.C., and Rule 18, N.D.R.Crim.P., address venue.